Ohio Turnpike Widening

Ohio Turnpike Widening

Ohio Turnpike Widening

Challenge

The widening of a 6.5 mile strip of the Ohio Turnpike through Portage County, Ohio required extensive efforts, including bridge rehabilitation, bridge inspection, and earthwork.

Services Involved

Civil Engineering

Construction Inspection

Environmental Evaluation

Surveying

Traffic Engineering

Ohio Turnpike Widening

ms provided all civil engineering, traffic engineering, surveying, and construction inspection services for the widening of the Ohio Turnpike to three lanes in both directions from milepost 199.05 to 205.46 in Portage County, Ohio, a total of 6.5 miles. This section of roadway required the rehabilitation of five bridges and complete inspection/underclearance studies for four bridges.

Bridge Reconstruction

As part of the widening of the turnpike in Portage County, the existing five-span bridge carrying S.R. 88 was reconstructed to eliminate two median piers, replacing them with a single pier at the centerline of the Turnpike. The existing continuous steel beam superstructure was salvaged due to its good condition and to avoid right-of-way problems if the entire bridge was replaced. The method used was to cast-in-place concrete crossbeams above the piers to be eliminated supported by two new steel carrying girders erected alongside the bridge and resting on new pier supports on the Turnpike centerline and outside shoulders. The cast-in-place crossbeams were cast around and below the existing steel beams and framed into the new carrying girders. Post-tensioning ducts in the six-foot, six-inch wide by four feet. Deep crossbeams passed below the beams of the original bridge and through the new carrying girders. After the concrete had obtained the specified strength, the 13 tendons in each crossbeam were sequentially stressed to smoothly transfer the original bridge pier reactions to the new crossbeam carrying girder system.